This is my first post but I have been reading around on this forum for about a month now. I haven't been driving for awhile due to some stupidity on my part, and the jeep has been driven by my parents for as of late. But now that I've gotten everything taken care of I'm ready to get back behind the wheel of the wk. Only problem is the other day while doing some regular checks of the fluids under the hood, I discovered the coolant level was low and the oil level was too high. My dad told me he noticed some spots on the driveway where the jeep had leaked some fluid, but thought there might just be a crack in the reservoir tank or something. Guess since its not his car he didn't bother to check ha.

Anyway, after some web browsing I found that too much oil could lead to a blown gasket, and that a blown gasket could be the root cause of losing coolant in some cases. Since theres not a steady leak when the jeeps off I'm ruling out a crack in the reservoir and i see no apparent hose leaks. Not knowing my way around a motor 100% though Im not really sure why this would happen. I was wondering if anyone knew the possible problems of having too much oil in the car as well as the possible causes of a coolant leak. Another grim discovery was some sludge like stuff under the radiator cap. Any ideas why this would occur?

The jeep is a 2006 WK 4.7 V8 and just passed the 66k milage mark, it was taken to sears at the beginning of this month to have an oil change, and the receipt said 5 quarts were put in. Im not sure why Im getting such a high oil level reading if thats the case (jeep was checked on level ground and hadn't been driven today). I have a couple pictures if that might help anyone get an idea of the situation:

was a little higher on the stick originally, couldn't quite hold it level and get a picture at the same time

orange coolant dripping from where the oil is drained

just curious to know what could be going on here and how much i could be looking at price wise in repairs? thanks!

I haven't noticed it running abnormally hot, water temp gauge reads just left of the midway mark. Haven't been on any very long drives lately either though...Check engine light is hasn't come on while driving. I should've labeled the picture, but that cap is the radiator cap just for clarification

yeah i meant rad cap. FWIW...the 4.7 holds more than 5 quarts. That could be your tranny cooler line leaking and running down the skid plate. Have a look at those lines at the front of the engine bay, bottom of engine.

im not sure what to think of the oil issue, cause if it holds more than 5 quarts and thats what they put in, I'm confused to how it is reading well above the safe margin..maybe they didn't drain it all?

I just ran it in the garage for a few minutes with the hood up and did notice a slight whining noise..hard for me to tell if its coming from the belts or the water pump. But have a feeling the water pump is going because my dad informed me he did have to fill up the reservoir almost completely about 2 weeks ago before they made a trip.

^^Thats the point it has made it down to since it was filled about two weeks ago. I notice that it leaks the most during startup, enough to see it visibly dripping for a few seconds, but then can't really tell how much is dripping after that because it seems to get caught by the skid plate.

And from what i can tell scott there isn't anything coming from the lines running to the tranny

Coolant level decreasing....oil level increasing can mean bad things are going on. What does the oil look like? Since it's fairly fresh, it should look pretty much like it comes out of the can. If it's a little (or a lot) milky/frothy looking, you may be losing coolant into the crankcase. Let's hope not, as that can mean serious problems.

Yea or it is a blown head gasket this is alot of the symptoms of that problem. You can go get your rad system pressure checked at any local oil change place. That will rule out any problems with your coolant system leaking.

If the oil is milky, chunky, or even smells like coolant then you are prolly looking at a blown head gasket. Also you can pull out a few of the spark plugs and see if there is either fluid on any of the plugs.

Got a call back from the shop today and was told that the water pump was the problem and that it needed to be replaced. I ask if he took a look at all the gaskets and he said after looking all around nothing else seemed to be out of the ordinary. I was qouted $250 to have it fixed and would have it back tuesday. I was almost tempted to pick it up and try to replace it myself, but due to being in and out of town cause of work all the time it would be much easier, not to mention quicker, to have him go ahead and take care of it. Hopefully no other problems show up!

Got a call back from the shop today and was told that the water pump was the problem and that it needed to be replaced. I ask if he took a look at all the gaskets and he said after looking all around nothing else seemed to be out of the ordinary. I was qouted $250 to have it fixed and would have it back tuesday. I was almost tempted to pick it up and try to replace it myself, but due to being in and out of town cause of work all the time it would be much easier, not to mention quicker, to have him go ahead and take care of it. Hopefully no other problems show up!

Good to hear, that was probably your best case scenario!

__________________"When my time on earth is gone, and my activities here are passed, I want they bury me upside down, and my critics can kiss my ass!"